I’m completely embarrassed that I have to cast a vote to give fellow human beings – my friends, colleagues, and neighbors – the same civil rights that I take for granted. It’s ludicrous that such a vote should have to take place at all. We should all be embarrassed, so much that we go scream from the mountaintops to support yes votes on Question 6.
Newark, NJ Mayor Cory Booker hit the nail on the head when he said, “Equal protection under the law – for race, religion, gender or sexual orientation – should not be subject to the most popular sentiments of the day, marriage equality is not a choice. It is a legal right.” I like Cory Booker. (Full article and a video of Cory Booker speaking on the issue, much more eloquent than I ever will be, can be found here.)
If that isn’t enough persuasion for you, check out this article in the Baltimore Sun – marriage equality will be great for attracting highly-qualified and creative talent to the state from states who are not yet considering marriage equality as a legal right.
How do your local officials react to this ballot question? A certain Councilman in Gaithersburg, the one that I respect most, is sadly off the mark on this issue, and is allowing his conservative version of humanity to cloud his vision of human rights. Another certain Honorable Small Potato, one of those I respect least, is on the leading edge of this debate, having testified in Annapolis in support of marriage equality. I think that particular small potato was really just trying to kiss the governor’s tushie and earn himself some state house credit, but I commend him none-the-less. The other 4 haven’t really said much about it. Unfortunate.
This shouldn’t be a partisan issue. It’s about human rights – not a liberal or conservative platform. My friends and neighbors shouldn’t have to fight for a vote to say that they’re in love and married.
This debate also should not be about the bible. I’m a born and bred Christian, attend a wonderful church, and believe in the holy trinity, but I do not believe the bible is an effective tool for governing public policy or human rights. John Shore said it best here:
“Employing the Bible in an argument about the legality of gay marriage,” I said, “is like employing pliers to saw through wood. It’s the wrong tool for the job.Illegal is not a religious term.”
“The fight against gay marriage is about fear. It’s about anger. It’s about unadulterated bigotry. It’s about stupid, ignorant, stubborn, blind, gut-level hatred. It’s got as much to do with anything Jesus taught as checker pieces have to do with playing chess.”
But, if you are among those fear mongers who must employ the bible to prevent my friends from getting married, then maybe you should also make certain that men can carry a food buffet around in their ever-growing, never-shaven beards, we should all go to he11 for our awful potty mouths and for watching the Redskins on the Sabbath, we should publicly stone to death any suspected adulterers (and in my pleasantville neighborhood, there is more suspicion than you’d think!), all women should go into isolation during their periods, lest they sit in your chair and make it “impure,” we should offer up sacrificial animals, we should never eat Maryland crabcakes, or wear cotton-poly blend shirts. Oh, the horror!
Please vote yes on Question 6 and end my humiliation at having to even consider this issue as one fit for the polls.
thesmallpotatoes 